1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of electromagnetic logging of earth formations penetrated by well borehole. More specifically, the invention is related to a method for determining the anisotropic resistivity properties of the earth formation and the dip angle of the borehole in the earth formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The basic techniques of electromagnetic or induction logging instruments are well known in the art. A sonde, having at least one transmitter coil and at least one receiver coil, is positioned in a well borehole either on the end of a wireline or as part of a logging while drilling (xe2x80x9cLWDxe2x80x9d). The axis of the coils is essentially co-linear with the axis of the sonde and borehole. An oscillating signal is transmitted through transmitter coil, which creates a magnetic field in the formation. Eddy currents are induced in the earth formation by the magnetic field, modifying the field characteristics. The magnetic field flows in ground loops essentially perpendicular to the tool axis and is picked up by the receiver coil. The magnetic field induces a voltage in the receiver coil related to the magnitude of the earth formation eddy currents. The voltage signals are directly related to the conductivity of the earth formation, and thereby conversely the formation resistivity. Formation resistivity is of interest in that one may use it to infer the fluid content of the earth formation. Hydrocarbons in the formation, i.e. oil and gas, have a higher resistivity (and lower conductivity) than water or brine.
However, the formation is often not homogeneous in nature. In sedimentary strata, electric current flows more easily in a direction parallel to the strata or bedding planes as opposed to a perpendicular direction. One reason is that mineral crystals having an elongated shape, such as kaolin or mica, orient themselves parallel to the plane of sedimentation. As a result, an earth formation may posses differing resistivity/conductivity characteristics in the horizontal versus vertical direction. This is generally referred to as formation microscopic anisotropy and is a common occurrence in minerals such as shales. The sedimentary layers are often formed as a series of conductive and non-conductive layers. The induction tool response to this type of formation is a function of the conductive layers where the layers are parallel to the flow of the formation eddy currents. The resistivity of the non-conductive layers is represents a small portion of the received signal and the induction tool responds in a manner. However, as noted above, it is the areas of non-conductivity (high resistivity) that are typically of the greatest interest when exploring for hydrocarbons. Thus, conventional induction techniques may overlook areas of interest.
The resistivity of such a layered formation in a direction generally parallel to the bedding planes is referred to as the transverse or horizontal resistivity Rh and its inverse, horizontal conductivity "sgr"h. The resistivity of the formation in a directive perpendicular to the bedding planes is referred to as the longitudinal or vertical resistivity Rv, with its inverse vertical conductivity "sgr"v. The anisotropy coefficient, by definition is:                     λ        =                                                            R                H                            /                              R                V                                              =                                                                      σ                  v                                /                                  σ                  h                                                      =                          1              α                                                          [        1        ]            
Subterranean formations are often made up of a series of relatively thin beds having differing lithological characteristics and resistivities. When the thin individual layers cannot be delineated or resolved by the logging tool, the logging tool responds to the formation as if it were macroscopically anisotropic formation, ignoring the thin layers.
Where the borehole is substantially perpendicular to the formation bedding planes, the induction tool responds primarily to the horizontal components of the formation resistivity. When the borehole intersects the bedding planes at an angle, often referred to as a deviated borehole, the tool will respond to components of both the vertical and horizontal resistivity. With the increase in directional and horizontal drilling, the angle of incidence to the bedding planes can approach 90xc2x0. In such instances, the vertical resistivity predominates the tool response. It will be appreciated that since most exploratory wells are drilled vertical to the bedding planes, it may be difficult to correlate induction logging data obtained in highly deviated boreholes with known logging data obtained in vertical holes. This could result in erroneous estimates of formation producibility if the anisotropic effect is not addressed.
A number of techniques and apparatus have been developed to measure formation anisotropy. These techniques have included providing the induction tool with additional transmitter and receiver coils, where the axes of the additional coils are perpendicular to the axes of the conventional transmitter and receiver coils. An example of this type of tool might include U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,520 to Runge, which proposed three mutually orthogonal receiver coils and a single transmitter coil. Other apparatus include the multiple orthogonal transmitter and receiver coils disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,883 to Gupta et al. Still other techniques have utilized multiple axial dipole receiving antennae and a single multi-frequency transmitter, or multiple axial transmitters such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,930 to Hagiwara and U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,841 to Wu.
A new method is provided for determining the anisotropic properties of a subterranean earth formation. The present invention is directed to a method for determining the anisotropic properties of an earth formation utilizing a multi-component induction. Specifically, the present invention contemplates a method for inverting the multi-component induction tool responses to determine anisotropic resistivity of an anisotropic and/or homogeneous formation and determine the tool""s orientation with respect to the formation anisotropic direction utilizing both the resistive (R) and reactive (X) portions of the signals from a combination of tool responses.
In a preferred implementation, an induction logging tool, having multiple mutually orthogonal transmitter coils and receiver coils, is positioned in a borehole and activated. Power is applied to the transmitter coils to induce eddy currents in the formation. These eddy currents then induce currents in the receiver coils. These are processed to generate a preliminary phase shift derived resistivity and attenuation derived resistivity. This information is then compared with a predetermined model that relates phase shift derived resistivity and attenuation derived resistivity, horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity and the anisotropy coefficient. Utilizing an inversion technique based on the preexisting model, the horizontal resistivity and vertical resistivity for a formation, as well as anisotropy coefficient and deviation angle relative to the formation, may be readily determined from the logging data.